Council leader defends flying Pride flag

The leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council has defended flying its Pride flag and accused some Reform UK councillors of being homophobic.

In a video posted on Facebook on Thursday, Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Stanley said the council would not take down its Pride flag after several Reform-led authorities in England decided to remove theirs.

Stanley also described being subjected to homophobic abuse from other children while at school, as well as the word "gay" being used as an insult.

As the only Reform councillor on the borough council, Graham Bocking, has "strongly rejected" what he described as a "public attack", and has "categorically" stated he is not homophobic.

Stanley posted the video on his own Facebook page. In it, he said: "What happened to those kids, if you look at the comments section, you get a pretty good idea – they didn't grow out of it, quite a lot of them carried it on, quite a lot of them became Reform councillors."

The council leader said Tewkesbury will continue to fly its Pride flag "high" to "support the LGBT+ community".

"If you don't like the Pride flag, don't look at it – simple as that," he added.

June is Pride month across the UK, where LGBTQIA+ communities are celebrated.

Reform-led councils in Barnsley, Gateshead and Norwich have taken down their Pride flags, while authorities in Essex, Havering and St Helens have scaled back their Pride events.

Bocking claims the comments made in the video "directly target his character and service record".

In a statement, he said he is "deeply disappointed" that the council leader has "used his platform" to take " cheap political shots".

"As the only Reform UK councillor in Tewkesbury, some might mistakenly believe from his video that I hold homophobic views," he said.

"I want to state categorically to all residents: I do not, I never have, and I never will.

"I do not put people into boxes, nor do I treat people differently based on labels - I treat all our residents equally and show them the absolute respect they deserve."

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